Interests
by Babymetal Fan
Summary: A collection of Ansatsu Kyoshitsu one-shots focused on the sniping pair of Chiba Ryuunosuke and Hayami Rinka.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So after being a fan of the manga for so long, I finally saw the anime of Ansatsu Kyoshitsu. And suddenly, my inner shipping fanboy exploded for RyuRin/ChibaHayami pairing! I already liked them from the manga, but this sudden urge had me searching fan art, reading fanfiction and whatnot, until I wanted to write a story of my own. Then I had trouble with a good setting for a story and was stuck for two days. Finally, in the oh so convenient time of when I was trying to sleep, this little idea hit me, and I couldn't sleep that night until I wrote it down. So here it is folks.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Ansatsu Kyoshitsu. The comedy genius Matsui-sensei does. I don't own the cover either!

 **Interests**

 **-x-X-x-**

Hayami Rinka stared at the drawing booklet in her hands, thinking about what she wanted to draw on it. It was a relatively less stressful time of the year regarding studies, and Korosensei had decided a 'break' kind of class was in order. Thus, in the first period after lunch, the octopus had given his students in Class-E an assignment of drawing something or things that interested them, before promptly taking off to Europe for some 'Art Viewing'.

It was rather childish if you asked her. Drawing something that interested them? Nevertheless, Rinka found herself outside, under the shade of a tree, and contemplating on what interested her. The rest of the class was also either scattered across the P.E. field or sitting back at the classroom.

Not getting anything particular, she looked around at her classmates. She noticed Okajima enthusiastically moving his pencil with that perverted look on his face, probably drawing girls in bikinis or something. A few feet to her left, under another tree, were the colorful trio of a redhead, blue-head and a green-head.

Kayano seemed more cheerful than usual. Rinka figured she was most likely drawing pudding which she loved so much. Nagisa looked as confused as she was and Karma had that all too familiar devilish look on his face. She didn't even want to think about what his mischievous mind was racking up this time.

Her eyes turned back to the paper on her lap. Yes, what she needed to think about was her own drawing. What did, in fact, interest her? She hadn't thought about this really. Did she even have any interests? Wait, the question was what interested her, not what her interests were… was there even a difference? She sighed. She was getting all confused over such a small task. If it was about things she liked, she guessed she liked her class…

"Cats," Oh yeah, she liked cats. The felines did in fact interest her. She found them… cute. With the image of a 'cute' kitten now in her mind, her hand finally began to move. She drew one ear, and mind you she was pretty good at this, followed by the second ear. However, she wasn't able to go past that point as another interest hit her.

Guns. She hadn't realized because it was always part of, and consequently overshadowed, by their constant assassination attempts. But this particular year she had taken an interest in guns. Now that the question of her interests was right in front of her face, it was quite apparent to her. Though, she wasn't sure how to feel about it. She certainly didn't have any future plans involving guns, definitely not assassination.

Still, it was technically an interest she had, so she figured she might as well add it. Thus, her pencil began to move again, this time drawing the lies of a rifle some distance below the cat ears.

But she stopped in the middle again, as another interest she had developed recently occurred to her. And this one shocked her the most. Did she really have such an interest?!

Rinka stared at her drawing booklet, which had two cat ears and a half-finished rifle on it. A tiny hint of pink adored her cheeks as she began moving her pencil for a third time.

 **-x-X-x-**

Rinka wasn't sure why she was doing this. Her now finished drawing in her arms, in a way no one could see it of course, she was walking towards the back of the school building, where she knew a certain someone was. Korosensei wouldn't be coming back for at least another ten minutes, and she was supposed to show him her drawing once he did come back.

So why? Why was she slowly threading to the back of the building, to that certain someone?

Rounding the building corner, she found the person she was looking for. He was alone on this side, leaning against the wooden wall with his own booklet in hand; her sniping partner, Chiba Ryunosuke.

"Ch-Chiba!" Did she just stutter?

The boy turned his head at her call. "Hayami, what is it?"

For some reason, Rinka felt like her face was warmer than usual. She stepped closer to the boy, and extended her drawing out to him. Chiba looked confused, but nevertheless took the offered piece off her hands.

"Look at it." Rinka simply said without meeting his (covered) eyes, before swiftly turning around and walking away, rounding the corner again and heading back towards her tree.

Chiba was even more confused by this, as he just stared after the girl for a few seconds. And were her cheeks red? Sighing, the boy turned his head down to look at the drawing as requested. He could try to figure out his sniping partner's odd behavior later.

Now taking a proper look at the drawing, Chiba saw a boy, holding a rifle, and cat ears on his head. He raised an eyebrow. The drawing quality was good for her age, and the concept was… interesting? Did she want him to judge her drawing?

Thinking that was the case, Chiba took a closer look at it. Upon doing so, he realized something. The boy's eyes were covered by his hair in a familiar fashion… the boy was him!

Another eyebrow went up. Hayami drew him with a rifle and cat ears? Why?

And then he remembered what their assignment was about; Draw something that interested them.

 **-x-X-x-**

 **A/N:** So there you have it, my first ever Ansatsu, RyuRin, and one-shot story. Wow, that's three firsts for me at once! Well hope you enjoyed it. I might write more one-shots of the pair, and if I do, I'll upload them to this story.

That's all, for now. Hopefully, I really will write more of RyuRin, I do love the two. They have sniped my heart!

Bad, I know - **Plus Ultra Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Assassination Attempt**

 **-x-X-x-**

Nagisa and Kaede were currently inside the Class-E classroom, along with Korosensei. It was after school hours, but the two students had asked their teacher for help with some things they didn't understand. Thus they were staying back for an extra lesson. Ritsu's main box was also there at the back of the room as per usual.

"And that covers Social Studies. That was all you had doubts with, right Kayano-san?" Korosensei asked the girl sitting in the front row next to her friend.

"Hai!" Kaede said cheerfully and stretched her arms up.

"Then we'll move ahead with the Math problems Nagisa-kun had trouble with." The octopus sensei said turning to the boy, who nodded with a smile.

"Then I'll wait for Nagisa to finish and go home with him." Kaede said as she got up from her seat and walked up to one of the windows. At her statement, Korosensei's face turned to his gossip loving expression, receiving a deadpanned look from Nagisa.

Kaede looked out the window as her sensei and friend continued their lesson. She saw that the outside was now basking in orange due to the setting sun. It was quite a beautiful sight. Focusing a little more, she saw the slightest hint of a shine from the small forest of trees. Kaede smiled.

It was time to begin the Assassination.

Yes, this extra study session was just an excuse for another assassination attempt they'd set up.

Kaede glanced back. Currently, her position at the window was blocking Korosensei's line of vision into the part of the woods where two snipers were getting into position. Ritsu was part of the attempt, too. She was in the snipers' phones, as well as her main box, so that she could monitor and inform the snipers when Sensei was in the right position, since they also couldn't see because of Kaede.

Among the woods, Hayami Rinka lay in position alongside her male partner, guns at the ready. Rinka was carefully listening to the instructions coming from her phone beside her via Ritsu.

"Korosensei is moving away from the board and going to Nagisa's desk. He will be in place soon. Shoot in 6… 5… 4… 3… 2…"

Back in the classroom, Kaede leaned her head to the side, as if admiring the scenery. Just as she did so, two BB bullets whipped past her ear and went into the room. However, instead of hitting the target, they carried on through the room without any obstacles until they hit the opposing wall.

Kaede turned around to the familiar mocking laugh of their Sensei, whose face was now covered with green stripes. They'd missed!

"Nurufufufufufu, that was not a bad attempt. Blocking my vision of the bullets until they were very close was a good idea. However, you failed to take into account one of Sensei's most prominent abilities." The octopus pointed a tentacle at his face. "I could smell Hayami-san and Chiba-kun from the direction you were staring at, Kayano-san. Thus I was expecting the shot and it was easy to dodge."

Nagisa and Kaede looked at each other a bit awkwardly; another failed attempt it seems.

"I can also smell the rest of the class far into that direction." Sensei spoke again, pointing to the back of the classroom.

"Yeah, they were just waiting to see how our assassination went." Nagisa said.

Korosensei nodded with an 'I see' before turning to Ritsu. "I assume you were in this too, Ritsu-san?"

The AI smiled. "Hai, I was giving the shooters instructions on your location."

"Hmm, I see." The teacher rubbed his 'chin'. "Then this attempt required communication of great precision. It seems you're deserving of more credit."

"In that case, Korosensei," The octopus looked down at Nagisa, who had spoken. "Can you show me how to do this problem on the board? I really was having trouble with these even though we used it as an excuse for the assassination."

"Certainly!" The teacher said and took the boy's book before turning around to write on the board.

The three students in the classroom silently watched as their sensei solved the problem on the board. And in the midst of it, Nagisa leaned down on the desk... just a second before a BB bullet flew over his head and at sensei.

A squishy tearing sound rang through the classroom. Kaede's mouth opened in shock and Nagisa bolted up from his seat.

There, on the floor, was a wiggling yellow tentacle, separated from its owner, who stood there with some sweat covering his head.

"That was close!"

Kaede's shoulders slumped and Nagisa flopped back onto his chair as he whispered, "We failed again…"

Korosensei looked at the blue haired boy as his tentacle grew back, "What was that? None of you shot at me, but that bullet came from your direction, Nagisa-kun."

The blue haired boy sighed one last time in disappointment of their attempt failing, before turning back in his chair and pointing at the back wall. "You see that hole in the wall, Sensei? Chiba-kun shot you through that hole."

Korosensei narrowed his already small eyes. Indeed, there was a hole just bigger than their anti-sensei bullets on the wall… wait,

"EHH?! CHIBA-KUN SHOT THROUGH THAT TINY HOLE?! EHH?! THERE WAS HOLE THERE?! WAIT, CHIBA-KUN?! BUT, HE'S," Korosensei flashed his face between the direction of the previous two snipers and the way the last shot came from.

"Yeah, about that…" Nagisa mumbled.

At the woods, a certain redhead raised his eye from the scope of his gun.

"Ahh, so close! He managed to get a tentacle, but it looks like your boyfriend failed as well." Karma said to the female sniper next to him.

"This isn't something new though. This plan had a low probability of even going properly due to the difficulty of the last shot. We just got our hopes up." Rinka said, before mumbling under her breath, "And he's not my boyfriend."

Back at the classroom,

"EHH?! KARMA-KUN?!" Korosensei yelled in further shock. "But, but… the smell,"

"Sensei, did you really think we wouldn't take one of your most prominent abilities into account?" Nagisa asked, mirroring sensei's previous words. When his teacher-target's attention was focused on him, Nagisa continued.

"We did our best to swap the scents of Karma-kun and Chiba-kun for this attempt. Soon after school ended today, Karma-kun took a bath using the kind of soap Chiba-kun usually used, applied Chiba-kun's deodorant, and is currently wearing Chiba-kun's unwashed P.E. clothes from today, and vise-versa.

"Karma-kun took position with Hayami-san, Chiba-kun's usual sniping partner, and attempted to shoot you to further throw you off the real thing. Meanwhile, the real Chiba-kun mingled with the rest of the class, so that we could present the excuse of them just being there to see the result, causing Sensei to let down his guard against any attacks coming from that direction.

"As for the hole, we drilled it yesterday and covered it with an extremely thin piece of paper, which was painted in camouflage to the wall by Sugaya-kun. After school was over, while you were in here with us, Isogai-kun drew a target on the outside wall to help Chiba-kun mark the hole. Ritsu relayed information on when to shoot, which was when I ducked, and the rest was up to Chiba-kun's accuracy."

Nagisa scratched his cheek, "He executed his part perfectly, and yet we were still unable to get you…"

When the boy finished, Korosensei just stared down at him for a few seconds. "Did you have any help for this from Karasuma-sensei?"

Nagisa shook his head, "No, we came up with it and did it on our own."

'…The amount of planning, preparations, precision and proper communication required for such a task is beyond middle school kids. These students of mine… they've come a long way.'

"All of you have become such worthy opponents." Korosensei spoke. "Tell the others to keep coming at me like this. You might, just might, be able to assassinate Sensei."

Hearing the words, the three students present smiled, as Nagisa nodded, "Hai, Korosensei."

 **-x-X-x-**

Later that evening, Rinka and Chiba were walking home together. Chiba was now out of Karma's P.E. clothes, back in his own school uniform. The two hadn't said a word since they left school grounds, just walking in silence.

"…Missing after trying so hard… it doesn't feel very good." Chiba finally spoke.

"Yeah…" Rinka agreed. "But that was our best attempt yet without the help of Karasuma-sensei or Bitch-sensei. And your shot was amazing! Shooting from that distance with such accuracy is something I can only dream of! We shouldn't be getting down like we did during the island attempt."

"Your right," Chiba smiled. "But don't speak as if your abilities are lacking. We both have our individual strengths. My range and accuracy are higher, but your visual ability and balance is far better than mine. Meaning you're that much better at shooting while mobile."

Rinka returned the smile, "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me," Chiba said. "I'm just stating the facts."

Rinka just stared up at him, smile still in place, before a brief giggle escaped her. Chiba glanced at the girl at this.

"What?"

"Nothing…" Rinka mumbled as she looked away.

"…" Chiba didn't say anything else as he also turned ahead. Like before, the two just continued to walk forward, together, in silence, the way they liked it.

 **-x-X-x-**

 **A/N:** There's the second one-shot. I've always liked the strategy in the assassination attempts, so I wanted to do one myself. This is mainly such an attempt with RyuRin elements in the mix. Hope you enjoyed! Then until the next one-shot, - **Plus Ultra Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I JUST FOUND A RYURIN FAMILY FANART RIGHT AS I WAS GOING TO UPLOAD THIS CHAPTER ADJAHHXDHADFFKUFHFSJDHGFJHIMOPMDCFQTZX

 **-x-X-x-**

 **Eyes**

 **-x-X-x-**

What were his eyes like?

Hayami Rinka wondered as she sat next to her sniping partner, Chiba Ryunosuke. Today it was going to be another assassination attempt to kill their sensei-target, and like many times before, the two snipers were tasked with delivering the finishing blow. Thus the two serious students were currently hidden among the trees on a hill, waiting till the rest of the class finished the preparations below to get the octopus into a position were they had a high chance of getting him.

But why the sudden question about eyes you ask? Well, it had just suddenly come to her. She had simply taken a glance at the boy next to her while he was staring through his gun's scope and caught a glimpse of his eyes from behind the black hair. And from there, the question just popped into her head.

What were his eyes like?

Rinka had caught similar glimpses in the past, and from what she could tell, his eye color was red…ish? Admittedly, there were a few other times she'd been curious about them. But being the kind of girl she was, she had never really tried to see them, or asked Chiba about them for the matter. Though, regularly being his partner in shooting and all, she was probably the one from Class-E who'd seen the most of his eyes. Because, as far as she knew, Chiba actually took precautions to not let anyone around see his eyes. Though, that just raises more questions…

Rinka mentally shook her head. Now was not the time for this. Looking through her scope, she saw Korosensei along with some of her classmates. They were taking advantage of several of his weaknesses at once to reduce his speed and getting him into a proper shooting position, just like how they'd done at the island.

The orange haired sniper placed her finger at the trigger, the boy next to her doing the same. Intently looking through the scopes, the two focused all of their concentration on their target. He was almost in position. A bead of sweat rolled down Rinka's forehead and Chiba released a light breath. Almost…..Almost…..There!

They pulled the trigger and the bullets flew.

Chiba and Rinka watched through the scopes, holding their breaths. They saw it all, the flying bullets, meeting their target, the yellow goop and a ripped off tentacle. But alas, the end result was the same as usual.

The two snipers sighed, they'd failed once again. This time however, they'd taken out one of sensei's main 'arm' tentacles and scratched his head. There weren't sure whether this would be considered a better or worse result than the island attempt, since back then, they'd forced him into his ultimate defense form.

Nevertheless, they pulled their guns back as the other students handled things below. They had no chance of getting him on this attempt anymore. Might as well pack their things and go down.

Though, for Rinka, she wanted to do one more thing while they were still up there alone.

"Hey, Chiba,"

The boy looked at her, "Yes?"

"Can you show me your eyes?"

Chiba blinked at the abrupt request. Though, his surprise soon disappeared, as the straightforwardness was so like Rinka. Still…

"Why the sudden interest in my eyes?" The boy casually asked.

"It's not sudden…I've always wondered about them," Rinka admitted, further surprising Chiba. "But that's not the point. Can't you just show them to me?"

"Well, I usually like to avoid anyone seeing them. But if it's you, I guess I could do it," Chiba said.

A strange pleasant warmth spread through Rinka's chest at the last sentence. Though, a question also rose up, "Why exactly do you try to avoid anyone seeing them?"

Chiba paused. Indeed, why did he? He knew that he didn't want people to see behind the hair covering his upper face, but the reason…?

"…I'm not sure, really… I guess you could call it some sort of a habit. I've had this hair style for as long as I can remember, and it seems I grew accustomed to people not seeing my eyes. So much so that, I ended up actually making an effort to keep them hidden. Now that I think about it, it feels kind of odd,"

Rinka stared at the boy who now had his head bowed, seemingly thinking more about the topic. She had believed she knew a lot about her shooting mate already, but now it was apparent that there was a lot she still didn't know. After all, if just a question about his eyes generated that response, there were sure to be much more to the boy called Chiba Ryunosuke. A smile formed on her lips.

"Then, can you show them to me?"

Chiba looked up at the girl's softly repeated question, before he also smiled. "Sure," He said and pushed up his hair with his right hand.

And the way he did it made Rinka's heart flutter. It looked like a hero of a romantic movie brushing up his hair against the wind in a breathtaking scene meant to make him look hot…

A shudder ran down her spine. Ok, that did not suit her at all. Take two:

It looked like a (dashing) sniper assassin positioned on a building, adjusting his hair to get a proper view of his target. Yeah, that was more like it.

Anyway, back to the real issue, Chiba's eyes were now completely visible to her. And she couldn't help but be ever so slightly mesmerized by them.

The color was more or less what she'd thought; reddish-brown, somewhat intimidating yet kind of appealing to her. And the sharpness in his eyes made the color stand out even more. They seemed like two polished gems fitted into his eye sockets.

"They're beautiful," Rinka mumbled as a hand unconsciously reached towards the boy's face. Chiba withdrew an inch at the approach, but no more than that. He stayed in place and let Rinka's fingers lightly brush the skin below his eye.

They stayed like that for several seconds, their eyes locked at each other through the entire time. After almost half a minute, Rinka finally retreated back, letting Chiba relax. Why did he get so tense all of a sudden?

"They really are nice." Rinka complimented again. "You should show them off actually. They're really cool."

"…Even if I got around my… habit, I can't do that." Chiba said. "You already know that the hair covering my eyes helps my marksmanship. And in the situation we're in, I need to be ready to shoot at any time. So I can't change this style."

Rinka showed a somewhat disappointed smile, "I guess it can't be helped." She said before turning her attention back to her gun. "Well, we should get going now. The rest would be waiting for us by now."

"You're right," Chiba agreed and went back to packing his own stuff. Soon enough, the duo were done. They stood up and started walking, heading down the cliff by the back path.

During their downward stride together, Rinka remembered the bit about knowing more about the boy beside her. She really wanted to know more about Chiba. A clear look at his eyes made her desire to deepen her familiarity with him grow. And those desires lead her to speak again,

"Hey Chiba," The boy turned his head towards her in response. "Are you doing anything after school today?"

"Nothing in particular, why?"

"Can we meet up after school?"

One of Chiba's hidden eyebrows went up, "Meet up? Do you mean like a-"

"Don't get the wrong idea. When I say 'meet up', I simply mean it in the way of friends hanging out, nothing more. So can we or not?"

This time Chiba was amused by the girl's quickly worded response. It was a rare sight to see Rinka flustered, even if just a little. Nonetheless, he answered her question,

"Sure, I guess. When and where will we meet?"

"I'll inform you of that before school ends." Rinka said and suddenly sped up, quickly going ahead of Chiba.

'Odd,' the boy thought. But he had to admit, he was looking forward to this. After all, he liked spending time with Rinka.

 **-x-X-x-**

 **A/N:** I thought Chiba's eyes looked really cool when he shot the gun licking assassin, both in the anime and manga. So this shot features those glorious eyes. Have a RyuRin filled night! Morning! Afternoon! Or whatever time it is at your place! **-Plus Ultra Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm desperate now. Someone give me a links to everything you know that is RyuRin related! I need my drug! I need more RyuRin!

 **-x-X-x-**

 **Tsundere**

 **-x-X-x-**

'Tsundere'

Hayami Rinka knew what it meant; basically a person who was hard on the outside but soft on the inside. She knew what it meant, and she had no problem with the word or people who could be put into the category. But when she was labeled as one, she found herself somewhat uneasy.

It all started during the exercise with the nicknames… Actually, it was before that. Back during the events that lead to Itona becoming a proper member of Class-E.

At that time, she had blurted out the infamous line 'don't get the wrong idea', followed by a similarly tsun-esque words. That in itself wouldn't have been a bad thing, but she had been heard by the otaku of the class Takebayashi, and the always perverted Okajima.

And that lead to her being given a particular nickname during the previously mentioned exercise. And the nickname was; Tsundere Sniper.

Even that would've been okay if it had stayed at that. But the nickname had surprisingly caught on. Now, especially during training exercises, she was frequently called 'Tsundere Sniper' as a sort of code name, even though everyone knew the name stood for her. It was of minor annoyance and wasn't really infuriating at all to be honest. But still, for reasons she did not know, she found herself uncomfortable.

It wasn't like anyone treated her any different. Rather, all of her classmates actually acted more familiar with her now than ever, each on their individual levels of course. So why did she have this feeling? To find out the answer, Rinka had decided to speak to the person, apart from few of the girls, she was closest to in her class.

"Chiba,"

The boy looked up from his desk at her voice. "Yes?" He asked. School was over for the day, so there were few students in the classroom at the time. Besides the two, there were Kurahashi, Yada and Nakamura chatting at the front row, and of course, Ritsu's main body at the back like usual.

"I want to talk to you about something. Can we go somewhere more private?" Rinka asked.

"…Alright," Chiba agreed, not seeing any reason to refuse. The two went out of the classroom, Chiba following Rinka as she lead him, and out of the building as well. The girl stopped at an open area near the school building, where no one was around and none of the girls in the classroom could hear them.

"So, what is it?" Chiba asked.

Rinka took one last look around before looking at the boy, "Okay, I'm going to be straight here,"

'Aren't you always?'

"Do you think I'm a 'tsundere'?"

Chiba raised an eyebrow, "Tsun… dere?"

"Yes, 'tsundere'." Rinka repeated. "Ever since I uttered the sentence 'don't get the wrong idea' that one time, I've been constantly labeled as a 'tsundere' in the classroom. It's not exactly a bad thing, but I don't feel very comfortable with it for some reason, and I want to know what you think."

'What I think…' Chiba scratched his head. "Does it really matter if you are?"

His question was met with stern eyes of Rinka who was now leaning forward. " .Question."

Chiba leaned back on instinct as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. Rinka could be scary at times. "Umm… I know little about these things, so I can't really distinguish. But personally, I don't think you are one,"

Rinka raised an eyebrow, prompting Chiba to continue. "I mean, I think your 'hard' or 'tsun' part is just your straightforward personality and not exactly what the 'tsun' stands for. And I know that you're an overall caring person, so…"

'Overall? What's that supposed to mean?' Rinka asked in her mind but didn't speak out loud. Instead, she leaned back to stand straight, a skeptical look on her face. Chiba seemed nervous as of now.

"Okay… even if you don't think so, let's say for now that I am in fact a 'tsundere'. How would you feel about me?"

'What's with these questions?' Chiba thought before answering again. "How would I feel? Well, I don't think I would feel any different really,

"I mean, even if we're taking about 'tsundere' itself, I don't have anything against it. I can actually understand why so many people like it. I feel like dealing with a 'tsundere' person can be viewed like a great adventure. The journey is long and hard, but the rewards you reap at the end are well worth it and even better because of the harsh path you threaded. Similarly, dealing with the 'tsun' is worth it for the reward of 'dere', and the 'dere' is ever sweeter because of all the 'tsun' you dealt with. And even the 'tsun' can be cute at times, depending on the person's perspective.

"And that's just 'tsundere' itself. Now if I apply it to you, which is applying something I don't have a problem with to a person I like, I wouldn't really feel any different as I said before. Because, at the end of the day, you're still _you_ , and I like _you_."

'…Wow.' The now wide eyed Rinka thought. She was NOT expecting that reply from him. Something that sounded like a self-opinion-based breakdown of 'tsundere' was not what she thought she'd hear when she asked him the question. Though, the part about how he felt about her not changing either way pleasantly warmed her heart… wait, "… 'Like' me?"

"Hmm?" Chiba asked on impulse. But as his brain processed the question, a look of shocked realization appeared on his face, accompanied by a blush. "Uh… I didn't mean it the way it probably sounded. I simply meant 'like' as a person, as a friend, you know? Nothing deeper,"

"…I see…" Rinka said with an odd look. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. She thought she would be uncomfortable if he _had_ actually meant 'like' in _that_ way. But even now that he'd clarified it wasn't the case, the feeling in her chest certainly wasn't comfort or relief.

An awkward silence settled between the pair. They both looked to the sides, unsure of how to carry on from that point. Finally, Rinka spoke up,

"Well, we've finished with what I initially wanted to talk about. So I guess we should head back now." She said. Though, hearing her own words made her realize something. The prior uncomfortable feeling she'd been having upon being labeled a 'tsundere', after hearing Chiba's responses to her questions, it had vanished. Sure, a new discomfort had settled in her heart due to their later exchange of words, but that particular feeling had completely disappeared. Did that mean…

"Yeah, let's go." Rinka was broken out of her thoughts by Chiba's agreement on heading back. She nodded absentmindedly, prompting the boy to start walking. She followed him quietly, those thoughts still racing around in her head. And that's why she didn't realize when Chiba suddenly stopped, and thus ended up walking right into his back.

"Ow!" Rinka mumbled as she stumbled two steps back, rubbing her nose which had hit the taller boy. "What happened? Why did you stop?"

Chiba turned to her without saying a word. He stared at her intently, not that she could tell, and spoke quite frankly,

"While we're on topic, do I look like an adult game protagonist?"

Rinka blinked.

 **-x-X-x-**

 **A/N:** More love for our Adult Game Protagonist and Tsundere Sniper! See you next time **-Plus Ultra Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** For this one, imagine the appearing characters in whatever kind of casual clothes you want.

 **-x-X-x-**

 **Cliché**

 **-x-X-x-**

"Waiter!"

The waiter turned around at the call. After he did so however, he wasn't sure who to respond to, as two people had called for him at once.

The two people in question turned to look at each other from their respective tables, and saw familiar faces,

"Chiba!"

"Hayami!"

 **-x-X-x-**

The two middle school students were now seated at the same table, facing each other. This was fortunate for the waiter, as he now had to take orders from just one table instead of two.

"What would you like to order?" The waiter asked.

"One espresso please,"

"An espresso,"

Chiba and Hayami looked at each other. The waiter smiled.

"Same thing huh? Alright, two espressos it is. Please wait a moment; they'll be ready in a bit." He said before leaving the two alone. Chiba and Hayami turned to each other when he was gone,

"So," They spoke at the same time, prompting both to smile. "You first," Again, the same time…

This time Chiba raised a hand, motioning Hayami to wait, who nodded.

"So, what are you doing here?" The boy asked. "I mean, there's nothing odd with just coming here for a coffee, but…"

"I'm heading to Megu's place, actually." Hayami said. "I just stopped by here because there was still time until the time she asked me to come at."

Chiba seemed surprised by this, "Really? It's exactly the same with me! Did she ask you to help out with the class organizing work, too?"

"Yeah…" Hayami trailed off. "She asked you too?" Chiba nodded. "Wow… so we were going to the same place, stopped by the same café, ordered the same thing and spoke at the same time… talk about coincidences!"

Chiba chuckled, "Yeah,"

Just then, their coffee arrived. The waiter placed the cups on the table and told them to enjoy before leaving again.

"Then I guess we should quickly finish off here and hurry to Kataoka-san's house." Chiba spoke again.

Hayami nodded at this. She then reached for the sugar packets on the table to pour into her coffee. However, at the same time, Chiba had also started moving his hand towards the sugar. This lead to the inevitable touching of their hands over the packets, and as they looked up at each other, green and red-brown-covered-by-black-hair eyes made contact but not really.

They stared at each other for a moment, light hints of pink now on their cheeks, before somewhat shyly retracting their hands.

'What's with these occurrences?! Just the prior ones would've been fine, but if this keeps up…' Hayami thought, looking down to hide her face from the boy sitting across her.

'This is extremely odd. For simple coincidences, this is starting to happen too often.' Chiba thought, before looking up at his classmate. "Um, you go first," He said, motioning to the sugar.

Hayami gave a petite nod before going ahead. Following that initiation, the two went about having their coffee without any more of the incidents. Though, it was still a bit awkward. They were finished soon and decided to head straight to their destination.

 **-x-X-x-**

Chiba and Hayami were now at the door step of Kataoka's home. Being a familiar of the house, Hayami went ahead and rang the doorbell. It took a while for the door to open, but when it did so, the two were taken by surprise. Because standing in the doorway was another one of their classmates, Isogai Yuuma.

"Ah, it's you guys! We've been waiting for you." The male class rep said, stepping to the side. "Come on in,"

"Isogai-kun, I didn't know you would be here too. How many people did Megu exactly ask to come?" Hayami asked as she and Chiba took the invitation and stepped inside. "And is Megu's mother not home? She would usually answer the door."

"Just us three," Isogai said as they started heading upstairs to Kataoka's bedroom. "Being one of the class representatives, it was a given I had to help her out. And for some extra helping hands, we both agreed you two would be reliable. As for Kataoka's mother, she went out to buy some things."

Arriving at the desired room, Isogai opened the door to see Kataoka hunched over on the floor, working on an apparent poster. "Kataoka, they're here,"

The female class rep looked up, "Oh, Rinka and Chiba-kun! So glad you could make it!" She got up and lightly hugged Hayami before leaning back. "I'm sorry but, can you guys immediately get started? We need to finish these by tomorrow and we still have quite a bit to do."

"Sure, what do you need us to do?" Hayami asked.

"Great!" Kataoka stepped back to show them the poster. "I need you two to work on these posters. The outline and essential parts have already been drawn roughly on small papers. You just have to follow them and its fine if you add some quirks of your own. In the meantime, I and Isogai-kun will complete some lists and tables for the class."

Chiba and Hayami nodded in understanding and the four students soon went to carry out their tasks.

About an hour after they started, and as they had just begun working on the second poster, Chiba noticed some of the colors they needed were finished.

"Kataoka-san, do you have any more of these?" The boy asked.

Kataoka looked back from her desk, "Ah, no… not up here at least. But I think there's a pack down in the closet. I'll go get it,"

She was about to stand up but was stopped by Hayami. "No, I will go."

"Alright…" Kataoka reluctantly agreed as Hayami stood up and opened the door. "Ah, but you may need to move some heavy stuff to find it!"

"I will go with her then," Chiba immediately offered.

The two went out of the room and downstairs together. Knowing the house, Hayami found the closet easily enough.

"Here we are," Hayami said, stopping in front of a thin door on a wall. She opened it to find the closet stacked full with several things, from cleaning appliances to boxes. "Megu wasn't kidding when she said we have to move stuff."

"Let's get to it then." Chiba said and stepped inside. Though the space was tiny as with any closet, and he could only place one leg inside before he was stopped by the things there. "We need to take some things out first. I can't find anything that is distinctly a color pack."

"Alright, then hand me the things you need out of the way and I will place them on the side for the time being." Hayami offered.

Chiba nodded and started taking things one by one and handing them to Hayami, who in turn placed them out of the way near the wall. While doing this however, Chiba found a box to be particularly heavy, and as he turned around to take it out himself instead of passing it to Hayami, he misplaced a foot, causing him to trip on a broom stick.

Losing his balance, Chiba found himself heading straight at Hayami. Through quick thinking, he was able to throw the box to the side. But he wasn't able to stop his body and ended up taking Hayami to the floor with him.

When Chiba opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was a pool of green. For a moment, Chiba thought two polished orbs of emerald was placed before his face. But then he realized that those were the eyes of his sniping partner… the sniping partner who was currently pinned under him.

His cheeks heated up when he fully comprehended their position. He was on his elbows and knees, legs on either side of her hips and arms on either side of her head. Their faces were extremely close, he could see a blush on her face as well, with their noses slightly brushing against each other and his hair splayed over her forehead. This also meant that his eyes were now completely visible to the girl below.

Hayami's breath hitched as she stared up at the sharp eyes of the boy over her. Those intimidating reddish-brown orbs, which Hayami had always found somehow appealing, gazing down at her from the position they were in… it was too much for her to take. Her breathing became ragged as the redness on her face started to spread. If they stayed like this any longer…

"Are you guys alright?!" The two snapped out of their daze at Kataoka's voice. She was coming down the stairs with Isogai. "We heard a loud noise! What happened?"

Chiba and Hayami quickly scrambled to their feet as the two class representative reached the floor.

"I just came across a heavy box and lost my balance. Both of us are alright though," Chiba quickly explained.

"Okay…" Kataoka mumbled. "Well in that case, we might as well help out now that we're here, right Isogai-kun?"

"Right," Isogai nodded in agreement and the two went to help. Chiba and Hayami avoided looking at each other while they accepted the help and continued to search for the colors.

Afterwards, having found the color pack, the group of four finished their work without further incident.

 **-x-X-x-**

Chiba and Hayami were now walking home together, admittedly under a bit of an awkward air. They hadn't spoken to one another, save for the necessary bits during their work, since the accident at the closet. They weren't sure how to behave after an event like that.

Now passing through an empty park, Chiba noticed a public bathroom. Figuring a little cooling off could help him talk normally to Hayami again, he turned to the girl,

"Hayami, can you wait till I go to the bathroom for a bit. Or you can also go ahead if you want."

Hayami glanced at the small building he was pointing at before nodding. "Alright, I will wait here."

Chiba nodded as well and hurried over. Hayami in the meantime walked to the side of the path they had been threading and leaned against a tree to wait for him. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the cool soft breeze blowing through the park, relaxing her heart which had been racing since that accident.

About a minute into her waiting, Hayami heard footsteps coming towards her. She opened her eyes and turned around, "That was quicker than I…"

Hayami trailed off part way when she saw that it was not Chiba before her, but two rather nasty looking older boys.

"Hey girl, watcha' doing here all alone?" One of them asked, leaning in close to her.

Hayami grimaced and took a step back, "I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting eh?" The second one stepped closer. "Whoever makes a cute girl like you wait must be a real jerk. Why don't you play with us for a change?"

"No, thank you. Please leave." Hayami politely requested with an undertone of warning.

"Now come on, don't be like that," The first one said and placed a hand on her shoulder. That was when the polite behavior of Hayami disappeared.

From some distance away, Chiba came out of the bathroom just in time to witness Hayami sweep one guy's feet, dropping him on his back, while twisting another guy's arm behind his back and pushing him to the ground. He saw Hayami rather angrily say some things to the two, who nodded frantically. She then let go of the one she was holding down, and the two scrammed immediately after she did so.

For a moment, Chiba thought about the usual scenario of a girl getting harassed by some guys and the boy who was originally with her coming to save her. But he soon shook off the though and went to Hayami.

"Who were they?" Chiba rather casually asked.

"No one we should concern ourselves with." Hayami said and started walking. Chiba paused a moment before starting as well, going quickly at first to catch up before slowing down to walk beside her.

"Are you alright?" Chiba asked, and Hayami knew it was more concerning her current emotional state than anything the two guys tried with her.

She took a deep breath before releasing it. "I was just a bit angry. Those kinds of people always test me. I'm fine now, though," She said, looking up and giving Chiba a small smile.

The boy returned the smile before they both turned forward again.

"You know, normally it would be the boy protecting the girl in situations like that. I guess they picked the wrong girl to mess with this time." Chiba joked, trying to lighten things up a bit.

Hayami sighed. "Yeah, it felt like one of those overly played out romance scenarios… actually," She looked up again, "Is it just me, or did today feel like a bunch of romance clichés?"

"It did, didn't it?" Chiba agreed. "It felt like some superior force was trying too hard to get us together."

Hayami stared at him for a moment. "Then, did it work?"

"Huh?"

"Did you start liking me?"

Hearing the question, Chiba felt something from earlier return. A fine sheet of red spread across his face in a blush, and Hayami found this to be quite cute. Though, he immediately forced down his fluster and composed himself. And instead of replying to the girl with an answer, he posed the same question to her,

"Did you?"

Hayami's lips formed a knowing smile. Still, she played along and looked up in apparent thought. "Hmm… no, I didn't start liking you,"

Chiba stopped dead in his tracks while Hayami kept walking. He wasn't sure what to think. It was the plausible thing. Why would she just up and start liking him after a silly day of coincidental occurrences? It was only logical that her feelings hadn't changed. Yet, what was this huge weight of disappointment he felt in his chest?

Hayami glanced back as Chiba stayed rooted in place. Seeing the frozen boy, the girl let out a light giggle. Now a light dusting of pink covering her own face, she continued from her last statement,

"Because I already liked you,"

 **-x-X-x-**

 **A/N:** NHJGSJDSDYSYFYFEHGDFPFBD JUST MARRY ALREADY!

About the café scene, I have no idea about fancy coffee. I only drink plain packet coffee at home.

I almost went beyond the K+ rating with this one. And I've been having the urge to write a more mature story about them. So it's possible you may see a multi-chaptered T to M rated RyuRin fic in the near future by me.

And yes, I ship Isogai x Megu too **-Plus Ultra Bye!**

…..

*Psshh*Manga Freak! Manga Freak! Give me a status report! Over!

*Psshh* Manga Freak reporting! Latest news is that Ansatsu Kyoshitsu will end in two chapters! Over!

*Psshh*Roger that. I will go cry in the corner then, over! *Psshh*


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Which is stronger? Love mainly built on affection or love mainly built on respect?

 **-x-X-x-**

 **Respect**

 **-x-X-x-**

"I really respect you. Let's continue to get along from here on out."

Hayami's words from just the previous day echoed inside Chiba's head. It had been just a simple statement and request, but for Chiba, it held a much greater depth.

At the time she had actually said that, he was, admittedly, excited in some odd form due to receiving chocolates from a girl and hearing her say that she respected him, and so could only reply with a 'thanks'. Not that he hadn't received chocolates from girls before. He had always been labeled, at least by a certain amount of people, as one of those cool and quiet guys. So even with the grades that dropped him to Class-E, back when he was at the main building, he was somewhat popular with some amount of girls.

But receiving the bitter-sweet delicacies from Hayami with a statement about respecting him had set his heart aflame of sorts. He had felt a kind of excitement and happiness he rarely felt, even with the hectic life he now lived with the rest of his class.

And those feelings were the reason he couldn't think much on the statement at the time. He had, after all, just ridden the kick through the eventful day. But when he went home and thought back to it on his sleeping bed, he had realized her words meant much more to him than just a simple statement.

Of course, he was sure Hayami also didn't mean it in any shallow manner whatsoever. But, the emotions and thoughts that rose from his end, along with how he felt about her, were much deeper than initially anticipated.

"Oof!"

"Ah, sorry Chiba!" Okajima apologized quickly for bumping into him before continuing on his running way to class with Maehara and a few other boys.

Chiba straightened up and looked to one side. He saw that most of the class was now going up the mountain with him. He had left for school early today, but it seems he had slowed down in his thoughts on the way and allowed them to catch up to him.

"What's wrong?"

Chiba switched sides to see it was the girl occupying his thoughts that had asked the question.

"Nothing,"

Hayami smiled. "Then want to walk to class with me?"

Chiba returned the gesture. "Sure,"

 **-x-X-x-**

Initially with the thought of respect, Chiba didn't doubt Hayami's honesty. He could tell when she told him, that she really did respect him, a lot in fact. However, Chiba felt that his own respect towards Hayami was even greater. And not just in relation to their temporary profession, but also regarding the normal aspects of a teenage student.

As a sniper assassin, Chiba very well understood why Hayami respected him. He excelled in spatial calculation, making his accuracy in long-range shooting second to none in Class-E. It was something Hayami looked up to him for as a fellow sniper.

In contrast, Hayami was gifted with well-balanced fingers and kinetic vision. Her ability to shoot down moving targets as well as accuracy while moving herself was much greater than his. She was showing this even at the very moment.

Chiba watched from a high branch as Hayami hit six targets placed at fair distances in an impressive span of time. The targets were hanging by ropes on branches, making them sway with the slight breeze that ran through the woods. And with the locations they were in, Hayami had to move from one tree to another to get a clear view of each of them. However, she did not halt in her position changes and kept moving while hitting each target dead on. And when she was done, she ended up with a new class record for the particular course.

"Impressive," Chiba complimented when the girl landed beside him.

"Thanks. Think you can do better?" Hayami asked with a challenging smile.

Chiba looked around the place. "Not with all these trees around. But if it was a more open area, I can shoot them all from a long distance in half the time you took."

He respected her more. But that didn't mean he didn't realize his own abilities.

"Oh? Then want to test it out?" Hayami asked, her smile growing into a smirk. "We can set up a similar course by the riverside."

"We can… but I have something else in mind." Chiba said, making Hayami raise an eyebrow. "Come with me after class today. I will show you."

Hayami looked confused, and slightly unsure, but agreed nonetheless. "Alright,"

 **-x-X-x-**

They were both said to be stoic, and Chiba agreed that it was true. No matter what kind of failure their efforts resulted in, what kind of hardships they faced, before Class-E, they always endured it by themselves. And it was also something that the more observant ones of the class would agree on, that Hayami was more stoic than Chiba.

Being stoic may not be something someone can take straight pride in or be praised for. It could, and usually did, prove emotionally unhealthy for the person. However, Chiba found this trait that Hayami had to a greater extent than him to be one of the reasons for his respect towards her.

He had heard about how things were before Hayami dropped to Class-E. How she kept enduring, without showing her true emotions, even as her grades fell further and the treatment from her mother got worse. They were close enough by now to share some aspects of their personal lives.

Chiba new enduring those by herself wasn't a good thing. He had gone through the same things after all. But because of that same reason, because he knew what she went through, he respected her for it. For a student trying their best, receiving constantly dropping grades and consequently scorn from their parents among many other things. What Chiba endured was much lighter than that. And that's why he knew just how strong she had to be to endure all that and still keep going. Not just keep going, but get better.

Now when he looked at her, she was more open, willing to share her troubles with others. Even now, looking on from his seat, he saw her among the girls, speaking and interacting relatively normally with them. Korosensei had helped them both get out of their shells of course. But Chiba felt that Hayami had made much further progress than him. And he respected her for that.

While Chiba continued to stare at the girl, an arm suddenly draped around his shoulders as Karma leaned in from the side.

"Admiring your girlfriend?" The redhead asked with his usual mischievous tone.

"I guess you can say that," Chiba admitted, ignoring the 'girlfriend' part.

"Oh? Then want me to hook you up? I may not look it, but I'm actually pretty good at it."

"Thanks for the offer, but what's in my mind right now is a little different." Chiba only now pried his eyes away from Hayami and looked up at his red haired classmate. "And regarding that, I have a little request. I was initially going to ask Nagisa, but since you offered to help…"

Karma leaned back and straightened up with a smile. "Sure, ask away."

 **-x-X-x-**

After the school and assassination activities were over for the day, the Class-E students were heading back to their respective homes under the golden hour sky. Hayami Rinka however, was a little strayed from her usual path at the moment. She was currently at the end of a road behind the mountain her classroom resided on. 'Behind' as in, the opposite side of the road leading from the classroom to the main school building.

'Chiba said to come here after school, but I don't see him anywhere.' Hayami thought as she looked around. While doing so, she noticed something else. There was a tree inside a private property's walls. A branch of the tree was extended out over the street and on the branch was someone. Someone she knew.

"Karma-kun, what are you doing up there?" Hayami asked, walking into a spot below the branch. There, she saw that he was tying a folded piece of paper onto the wood with a thin rope.

"Ah, you're here huh? Well, I'm done anyways." Karma said and sat up from his leaning position. He dusted his hands off and leapt down before dusting his clothes as well. "Chiba asked me to do this. He's still up on the mountain, at the classroom's level I believe. You just stay here and wait for 'it' to happen. And that's my job done. See you tomorrow!"

"What..?" Hayami asked while Karma casually started jogging forward with hands in his pockets. "W-Wait, hold on!"

Her call was met with no verbal response, much less did he stop, and he soon rounded the corner and disappeared from her sight.

'What in the world was he taking about?!' Hayami thought in confusion. She glanced back at the mountain, wondering what Chiba was still doing there, before her eyes went to the tied piece of paper hanging from the branch.

Soon after they did so, something flashed past her line of sight. It had apparently cut the rope since the paper started to flutter and fall. Hayami instinctively stuck out her hands and allowed it to fall onto them. And at the moment the paper brushed her skin, Hayami realized it was a bullet that had cut the rope.

Her eyes once again went to the mountain. But this time, instead of confusion, they were filled with awe. 'Chiba… shot that thin rope from that far?!'

Even through her amazement of the shot, Hayami grasped at the point that she was meant to see the paper. Thus, a bit absentmindedly, she unfolded the piece and scanned it to see just two lines written on it.

'I accept your respect towards me and consequently will do my best to live up to your expectations.

And on that note, I also really respect you. Let's continue to get along from here on out.'

It took only a moment's pause for a smile to spread through Hayami's lips. And the smile stayed in place as she looked back up at the mountain.

"Yes, let's continue to get along."

 **-x-X-x-**

 **A/N:** Remember when Hayami said "I really respect you." to Chiba during the valentines arc? That was probably my favorite RyuRin moment in the manga to be honest. I felt like Hayami saying that made me happier than I would've been if she had actually said she liked Chiba. And thus, this time the theme is 'Respect'.

Also, canon grown up Rinka with long hair~

 **-Plus Ultra Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Been a while huh? Well, my interest (no pun intended) in AC has been admittedly lower since the manga ended. But of course, it's not going away since AC has become one of my favorite series. RYURIN IS LOVE!

So anyway, here's another little story thingy.

 **-x-X-x-**

 **Hug**

 **-x-X-x-**

Chiba stared at the piece in his hands with an odd look. A box had arrived at his doorstep that morning, sender unknown, and out of the box came the piece he was currently holding.

What was this piece you ask? Well, it was just a plain black T-Shirt.

Why he was staring at it oddly? That was because of the only decoration on the otherwise blank piece of cloth; the big bold text on the front reading 'Hug Me'.

Chiba wasn't sure what to make of it. Was this a prank? Or maybe a present by someone who didn't want to be named? A secret admirer perhaps?

Deciding not to dwell on it now, Chiba got up from his seat at the living room couch. It was Saturday and he had things to do. Not going out today in particular, but still things to do.

Though, just as he stood up, the phone in his pocket rang. He took it out and checked who it was and saw Karma's name on the screen.

"Hello?" He spoke through the phone.

"Ah yeah, Chiba? Have you received the package?" Karma's voice came from the other side.

"Package…?" Chiba asked, and his eyes automatically went to the shirt in his other hand. "You sent this?"

"Yes, and could you wear it today?"

"…Why?"

"Come on, it's a present from me, so wear it to at least make me feel good." Karma's voice sounded whiny, but Chiba could also hear the usual mischief in it. "Besides, it's not like you're going out today, right?"

"That is true… but I don't see any obligation for me to wear this."

"Oh come on! I'll buy you juice," Karma offered suggestively.

"Why are you so persistent in making me wear this shirt?" Chiba asked.

"We just think it would look cute on you,"

"…Was that Nakamura-san?"

"Yes..." Karma's voice came back from the other side. "But never mind that, are you going to wear the shirt? I even offered to buy you juice!"

Chiba sighed, finally relenting.

"Alright, I'll wear the shirt while I'm in the house." He agreed, not seeing any real harm in it.

"Great! Then see you next week in class!" Karma said and promptly hung up.

Chiba brought his phone down and stared at it oddly. His gaze then shifted from the mobile to the cloth on his other hand. Deciding to just go through with it, he placed the phone back in his pocket and proceeded to change shirts.

 **-x-X-x-**

Hayami walked along a road, heading to the house of her closest male friend. Earlier that morning, Rio had stopped by and asked her to deliver some 'important notes' to Chiba. Why the blonde couldn't do it herself was beyond her. She had just come, gave her the task, and promptly left without further explanation.

Later, Hayami did try to contact her, but Rio did not answer. And when she called Chiba, his phone responded as busy at the moment. With the lack of information, Hayami was unsure of how to act. But the notes seemed genuine, English tips personally from Bitch-sensei apparently, and she was free for most of the day. Thus, Hayami decided on just doing what she was asked.

Reaching the desired house, Hayami walked up to the doorstep and rang the doorbell. After a moment of waiting, the door opened to reveal Chiba himself.

"Hayami? What are you doing here?" The boy asked.

"Rio asked me to give you these notes." Hayami said, handing him the papers.

"Notes?" Chiba asked as he took the sheets and started checking them. While he was doing this, Hayami's eyes trailed from his face to his shirt,

'…Hug me,' Hayami mentally read what was written on the shirt. Her eyes then went back to his face.

"I don't really know what these…" Chiba trailed off when he saw the slight questioning look on Hayami's face. In turn, his expression also showed confusion. Hayami answered this by nodding once, and Chiba followed the gesture and looked down, only to see that he was still wearing that shirt.

"Uh…" Chiba wasn't sure what to say. He figured he should explain before the girl got the wrong idea, but the proper starting words were having trouble coming out.

Hayami found the loss of words sprinkled with some fluster both amusing and cute at the same time. A smile formed on her lips as her eyes once again went to the shirt. She stepped closer, her arms spreading wide. And the next thing Chiba knew, Hayami was embracing him with her arms around his back and head by the side of his.

"If you wanted one so much, you could've just asked." Hayami whispered into his ear.

With the smile still in place, the girl let go of the stunned Chiba and stepped back. She stared at him for a moment before giggling slightly, and turned around to head back home. "Well, I've done what I was tasked with. So I will be leaving now."

She went to get going, but to her slight surprise, she was stopped by Chiba's voice.

"Hayami,"

She turned around partially to look at him. "Ye-"

Her question was cut off when, to her much greater surprise, Chiba draped an arm around her waist, turned her fully around and pressed her to his chest as his other arm also locked around her back. Her own arms were squished between her chest and his, and all she could do was look up at the boy with her now wide eyes.

And gazing from above were the piercing red ones of Chiba. His face started getting closer, and Hayami instinctively backed away. His head slid to the side, lips coming close to her ear. Hayami held her breath when Chiba's own brushed her ear. She closed her eyes and waited for whatever Chiba was intending to say.

"…Thank you for bringing me the notes."

Hayami pried one eye open at this, followed by the second when Chiba let her go and stepped back. He raised the paper sheets up, "I appreciate it,"

With that, he stepped back into his house and held the door. "See you in class." He offered as the last parting words and lightly shut the door.

Stunned, Hayami just stood there for some time. Finally, she turned around slowly and started heading back home in a slight daze.

 **-x-X-x-**

"Told you Chiba would hug her back. Now you have to pay me double the amount I paid you!"

"Aaaah! And here I was hoping I could get some pocket money out of Rinka's hug. Oh well, I guess I'll just have you pay me triple next time,"

"Won't be happening sweet pies,"

"We'll see about that."

 **-x-X-x-**

 **A/N:** "sweet pies"

Karma x Rio anyone? I'm personally more Karma x Okuda, but Rio and he are the two devils of Class-E. I think they make a pretty good pair too.

Anyway, this turned out longer than expected. This one-shot was inspired by an artwork by aya1039. The artist makes the best RyuRin fan arts out there!

Hope you enjoyed **-Plus Ultra Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Have no fear! For _ **I**_ have come (back)!

Alright, onto the story; you can think of this one as a sequel to chapter 3 " **Eyes** ". I think it's more amusing that way.

Enjoy!

 **-x-X-x-**

 **Date**

 **-x-X-x-**

"Hey, Chiba,"

The boy looked up from his coffee at his companion's call. "Yes?"

"Do you like dates?" Hayami asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" Chiba asked, surprised and confused at the sudden question. She had specified, when she asked him to come, that this was not a date, just friends hanging out. But now she was asking if he liked them. "What do you mean?"

"I'm simply asking if you like dates. What else would I mean?" Hayami said, her expression reading 'isn't it obvious?'

"Umm… I guess so…" Chiba trailed off.

"Why the hesitation if you do?" Hayami asked, skeptical.

"No, it's just… I'm not certain how to respond to the question," Chiba admitted. But Hayami's face said she didn't get what he meant.

"Why? Dates are fun aren't they?"

"I suppose…" Chiba paused. "But it depends really,"

"Hmm, true. If it's a bad one, it won't be very fun." Hayami agreed with a nod. "But speaking on the good ones, what do you like about them?"

"Uh…"

"…You know, you're being awfully unsure for someone who likes what's in topic." Hayami said, skeptical once more and even slightly amused.

Chiba scratched his cheek. "Yeah… it's kind of an odd topic considering the moment."

"Really?" Hayami asked, still not sure what to make of Chiba's hesitation. She certainly didn't find it odd, relating to the moment or not. And to the reason she initially wanted this meeting… 'I really want to know what he's interested in, and if he's interested in the same things as I am. I don't want to just stop here.'

With her mind made up, Hayami decided to proceed with the subject. "Alright, then how about I mention things about dates and we talk about them one by one?"

"Uh, okay,"

"Great! Then first is appearance. Do you like how dates look?"

"Appearance…?" Chiba asked slowly.

'Maybe she means how the partner looks and the places we go. It would also depend, but since she said we're talking about the good ones…' The boy thought before speaking. "Generally, yes, I do."

"Right? I especially like the color. The variant brown shades become like a transparent chocolate in contrast to its different flavor."

'Transparent chocolate?'

"Ah, then next is the flavor. How do you like its taste?"

'First appearance and now flavor? She's being pretty metaphoric about this.' Chiba considered, "Um… it's s-sweet so I like it?"

"Hmm, sweet would be the most obvious and simplest way to describe its flavor. Well, I'm no Toutsuki student myself, but I think dates have this syrupy, different taste that sets it apart from everything else. I really like it."

"…"

"Next are health benefits!" Hayami piped up. But before Chiba could even start thinking about the heading, the girl continued. "Ah, health benefits aren't really up for opinions huh? I mean, it's a fact that dates are good for your health, and who in their right mind doesn't prefer good health?"

'I may need to do some research on this when I get home.' Chiba thought to himself.

"Moving one, next would be… texture,"

This time Hayami didn't even give him a chance to answer and piped in her own view. She seemed pretty enthusiastic about this.

"It's texture is another one of its high appeals in my opinion. It has a relatively harder outer sheet covering the mushy, and in my personal view, bubbly interior. Oh, I love the feel of it on my tongue!"

'…I'm completely lost now.'

"Hey!" Hayami suddenly chirped up. "Do you want to go get some right now?"

"Huh?"

"Do you want to get some dates right now?" Hayami repeated.

"S-Several at the same time?" Chiba stammered.

"Of course! Just one wouldn't be enough." Hayami said before taking his hand. She stood up and started dragging him behind her. "Come on,"

Chiba quickly fumbled through his pocket and managed to leave the appropriate amount of money to cover the coffee before he was tugged out of the café.

 **-x-X-x-**

Chiba now stood at the fruits section of a shop, staring down at the little dark edible objects in front of him with a look of realization, as Hayami next to him continued to excitedly pick up a hefty amount for them to buy.

"Oh… dates."

 **-x-X-x-**

 **A/N:** You know those times when a companion says something, you misunderstand, and you continue with that misunderstanding no matter how obvious it gets, until eventually the actual thing is mentioned by name or shown to you? What? You don't have those instances?

Well I've certainly had those experiences and I love dates (the fruit!), so this one features those two things! Short, I know. But this was mainly to get myself back up after my longest absence in this collection (4 months?). Next one, if it ever comes, will be bigger and will probably feature the biggest cast yet!

Hope you enjoyed this one! I'll hopefully be back with a party next time **-Plus Ultra Bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Update before 4 months! Yay!

This may be abrupt, but this will be the final one-shot of this collection. What was meant to be the original chapter 9 is going nowhere after the start, and then this came to me. I thought this was appropriate to end this series and so I'm going that way. If I ever finish the original chapter 9, I'll post it as a separate one-shot.

So anyway, thank you all for reading! Enjoy this short, last little present.

 **-x-X-x-**

 **Present**

 **-x-X-x-**

Chiba and Hayami sat on a bench near a river, basking in the red and orange lights of the setting sun. They were still in their high school uniforms, leaving school late after club activities and taking a detour for this little stop. The reason for this stop, Hayami wanted to know as well.

"So?" The girl asked, prying her eyes away from the shining water to look at the boy next to her. "What did you want me here for?"

Chiba turned to her as well. He took a moment to savor how stunning Hayami looked in the evening colors. Being regularly with her since their middle school days, he could tell she was growing into a fine beauty.

"There was something I couldn't do back in school." Chiba said.

Hearing this, Hayami looked more curious than before. Thus the boy continued. "Today is your birthday, right? I wanted to give you my present before we went home."

Hayami was somewhat surprised by this, in a pleasant manner of course.

"Oh?" A small smirk then spread along her features. "Then am I supposed to close my eyes now?"

Chiba also smiled. "If you don't mind."

Hayami's smile stayed in place as she lightly shut her eyes, waiting for further instructions.

Though, even after a moment of waiting, she did not hear any more instructions. Instead, she felt a hot breath upon her lips, followed soon by contact with what was clearly flesh.

Hayami's eyes shot open at the realization, at the feeling of Chiba's lips brushing against hers. The sensation of his larger, firmer lips pressing on hers caused bursts of unexpected ecstasy to arise from deep within. Her heart wanted to respond. Her mind and body wanted to respond. But before she _could_ respond in any form, especially in the way she wanted, the boy ended the kiss by pulling away.

Straightening back up and with a charming smile, Chiba then spoke to the frozen girl. "Happy birthday, Hayami Rinka."

It took a while for Hayami's surprise to wear off. During this time, her eyes stayed slightly wide, and even though directed at Chiba, staring off into space. Her lips slightly parted from the contact and her back straight from the shock.

But when it did wear off, the first emotion that showed on her face wasn't embarrassment, happiness or anything as such. Instead, it was apparent anger.

Hayami looked dead into Chiba's eyes with a hard, demanding gaze. She asked her following question with authority. "You stole my first kiss as my birthday present?!"

Chiba's eyes went wide. Now it was his turn to be surprised. "That was your first—"

"Come here!" Chiba didn't get to finish his question when Hayami suddenly grabbed his shirt. She pulled him in and smashed their lips together, connecting them in a kiss for a second time.

After a longer period of much deeper, more intimate lip contact, Hayami broke the kiss by roughly pushing Chiba back. She looked at the boy with an expression of few mixed emotions on her now slightly blushing face.

"If you're going to do that tell me beforehand!" The girl said with annoyance, happiness, embarrassment and then some, showing both in her eyes and voice. "I won't be able to fully enjoy it otherwise…idiot."

All Chiba could do was form a somewhat stupid smile.

 **-x-X-x-**


End file.
